Self-balancing bipolar air ionizer

Abstract

An air ionizing apparatus that produces both positive and negative ions has a housing with air inlet and outlet passages, a plurality of spaced apart air ionizing electrodes and a high voltage supply which applies positive and negative voltages to separate electrodes. A fan creates an airflow that carries the ions out of the housing, the fan preferably being between the electrodes and the outlet passages to promote intermixing of positive and negative ions.

I claim: 
     
       1. Bipolar air ionizing apparatus for generating and releasing a flow of air including intermixed positive and negative ions, comprising: a housing having an air inlet passage and an ionized air outlet passage that is spaced apart from said inlet passage;   a fan disposed in said housing to draw a flow of air into said housing through said inlet passage for directing a flow of air and ions through said outlet passage and out into the external environment, said fan having a rotary hub and blades which turn about a rotational axis that is aligned between said air inlet passage and said air outlet passage;   a cylindrical air duct encircling said fan and being concentrically oriented on said rotational axis to extend from said fan to said air outlet passage;   first and second pairs of air ionizing electrodes disposed in said housing at a location in the air flow path between said air inlet passage and said fan for producing positive ions about each of the first pair of electrodes and for producing negative ions about each of the second pair of electrodes, each of the electrodes in said first and second pairs of electrodes being diametrically oriented about the rotational axis substantially laterally to the flow of air and equidistantly spaced from the rotational axis of the fans and being sufficiently spaced equidistantly apart about said rotational axis to enable said air flow to carry at least a portion of the positive and negative ions away from respective ones of said first and second pairs of electrodes and out of said housing through said outlet passage without neutralization of the ions from ones of the first and second pairs of electrodes by contact with other of said first and second pairs of electrodes; and   a high voltage supply connected to the first and second pairs of electrodes for applying high D.C. voltage of positive polarity to each of the electrodes of the first pair of electrodes and for applying high D.C. voltage of negative polarity to each of the electrodes of the second pair of electrodes to produce supplies of both positive and negative ions in said flow of air about the respective first and second pairs of electrodes to be carried in said air flow through said outlet passage.   
     
     
       2. The bipolar air ionizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the surfaces of the rotary hub and blades are coated with an electrically insulating material. 
     
     
       3. The bipolar air ionizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical air duct is comprised of an electrically insulating material.